• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.559-565
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• 2015

The ductile-brittle transition behavior of two austenitic Fe-18Cr-10Mn-N-C alloys with different grain sizes was investigated in this study. The alloys exhibited a ductile-brittle transition behavior because of an unusual brittle fracture at low temperatures unlike conventional austenitic alloys. The alloy specimens with a smaller grain size had a higher yield and tensile strengths than those with a larger grain size due to grain refinement strengthening. However, a decrease in the grain size deteriorated the low-temperature toughness by increasing the ductile-brittle transition temperature because nitrogen or carbon could enhance the effectiveness of the grain boundaries to overcome the thermal energy. It could be explained by the temperature dependence of the yield stress based on low-temperature tensile tests. In order to improve both the strength and toughness of austenitic Fe-Cr-Mn-N-C alloys with different chemical compositions and grain sizes, more systematic studies are required to understand the effect of the grain size on the mechanical properties in relation to the temperature sensitivity of yield and fracture stresses.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.207-216
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• 2017

This study investigated the effects of the addition of Zn, Ca, and SiC on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Al alloys. The tensile properties of homogenized Mg-xAl (x = 6, 7, 8, and 9 wt.%) alloys increased with increasing Zn content by the solid-solution strengthening effect. However, when the added Zn content exceeded the solubility limit, the strength and ductility of the alloys decreased greatly owing to premature fracture caused by undissolved coarse particles or local melting. Among the Mg-xAl-yZn alloys tested in this study, the AZ74 alloy showed the best tensile properties. However, from the viewpoints of the thermal stability, castability, and tensile properties, the AZ92 alloy was deemed to be the most suitable cast alloy. Moreover, the addition of a small amount (0.17 wt.%) of SiC reduced the average grain size of the AZ91 alloy significantly, from $430{\mu}m$ to $73{\mu}m$. As a result, both the strength and the elongation of the AZ91 alloy increased considerably by the grain-boundary hardening effect and the suppression of twinning behavior, respectively. On the other hand, the addition of Ca (0.5-1.5 wt.%) and a combined addition of Ca (0.5-1.5 wt.%) and SiC (0.17 wt.%) increased the average grain size of the AZ91 alloy, which resulted in a decrease in its tensile properties. The SiC-added AZ92 alloy exhibited excellent tensile properties (YS 125 MPa, UTS 282 MPa, and EL 12.3%), which were much higher than those of commercial AZ91 alloy (YS 93 MPa, UTS 192 MPa, and EL 7.0%). The fluidity of the SiC-added AZ92 alloy was slightly lower than that of the AZ91 alloy because of the expansion of the solid-liquid coexistence region in the former. However, the SiC-added AZ92 alloy showed better hot-tearing resistance than the AZ91 alloy owing to its refined grain structure.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.505-509
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• 2009

In this study, bulk nano-crystalline $Si_3N_4$ ceramics were fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and their mechanical properties, in particular wear, were investigated. A wide range of grain sizes, from 80 nm and 250 nm were obtained by varying sintering conditions ($1550^{\circ}C$-5 min to $1650^{\circ}C$-20 min). The elastic modulus of obtained ceramics was ${\sim}250$ GPa and hardness was in the range of $13{\sim}14$ GPa. The indentation fracture toughness increased from $2.58MPa{\cdot}m^{1/2}$ to $3.24MPa{\cdot}m^{1/2}$ with increasing sintering temperature possibly due to the elongated grains. Sliding wear tests revealed at least an order magnitude improvement in wear resistance with grain refinement. Microstructure analysis indicated that nano-$Si_3N_4$ specimens worn mainly through delamination and microcracking, while that of coarser specimens revealed severe wear with grain debonding and fracture.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.12
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• pp.1078-1083
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• 2010

In this study, high temperature oxidation behavior of Alloy 617 was investigated to evaluate the effect of grain size for Alloy 617. The grain size of grain-refined Alloy 617 (GR617) was reduced to $5{\mu}m$ from $71{\mu}m$ for as-received Alloy 617 (AR617) by recrystallization after cold rolling. After high temperature aging, the oxide layers of AR617 and GR617 consisted of $Cr_2O_3$ external oxide scale and $Al_2O_3$ internal oxide. The external oxide scale resulted in a Cr-depleted zone and a carbide free zone below the scale. The depth of the carbide free zone was deeply formed in GR617. On the other hand, the depth of the internal oxide layer in GR617 was shorter than that in AR617. After a 3-point bending test, crack propagation of GR617 was more restricted than that of AR617 because of the different microstructure of the internal oxide.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.1-6
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• 2012

This paper developed the chassis part as micro-alloyed steel with high toughness. The performance of micro-alloy steels are superior to similar heat treated steels. The strengthening effects of vanadium make micro-alloyed steels particularly suited for high-strength-steel applications. The disadvantages are that ductility and toughness are not as good as quenched and tempered (Q&T) steels. Precipitation hardening increases strength but may contribute to brittleness. Toughness can be improved by reducing carbon content and titanium additions. dispersed titanium nitrides (TiN) formed by titanium additions effectively prevents grain coarsening. Grain refinement increases strength but also improves toughness. For the chassis parts using high toughness micro-alloy steel, it had proven superior to a plain steel forging by static strength test and endurance test.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.123-124
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• 2006

This study aimed at exploiting low heat input characteristic of laser welding to effectively control grain coarsening in the fusion zone(FZ) and heat affected zone(HAZ) of 1.5mm thick 18wt% Cr ferritic stainless steel weld. The study demonstrated that as compared with gas tungsten arc welding(GTAW), laser welding brought about significant grain refinement in the FZ and HAZ. However, the impact absorbed energy of GTA weld was superior than that of laser weld because the strengthening effect during welding and cooling stage was higher In laser weld than that in GTA weld. The coarser grains in each weld than base metal resulted in an inferior toughness.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.162-170
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• 1990

The major effects of RSP sre 1) extension of solid solubilities, 2) formation of metastable phaeses, 3) microstructural refinement 4) segregationless. The main trust of this study was to investigate the effects of superimposing RSP on the structure and properties of HSLA steels. Powder was made by NGA (Nitrogen Gas Atomization) process, and consolidated by HIP. The high grain-coarsening resistance of NGA-HIP steels was attributed to a fine dispersion of oxide precipitates. The average grain size for the NGA-HIP steels was somewhat finer than that for the conventional HSLA steels, The impact properteis of NGA-HIP steels were improved over those of the conventional HSLA steels.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.69-76
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• 2003

The present work was undertaken to investigate the mutual effect of the individual melt treatment commonly applied in aluminum foundries such as grain refining, modification, degassing and filtration on the microstructures and the mechanical properties. A357 alloys were fabricated through various melt treatments such as degassing by gas bubbling filtration, modification via the addition of Al-Sr master alloy, grain refining through the addition of Al-Ti-B master alloy and filtration before pouring of the melt. Each melt treatment was performed at its optimum condition reported in the literatures. The effects of each melt treatment and their interactions on the microstructures and mechanical properties of A357 alloy were examined.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.423-428
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• 2010

Carbon nanotubes(CNTs) are expected to be ideal reinforcements of metal matrix composite materials used in aircraft and sports industries due to their high strength and low density. In this study, a high pressure torsion(HPT) process at an elevated temperature(473K) was employed to achieve both powder consolidation and grain refinement of aluminummatrix nanocomposites reinforced by 5vol% CNTs. CNT/Al nanocomposite powders were fabricated using a novel molecular-level mixing process to enhance the interface bonding between the CNTs and metal matrix before the HPT process. The HPT processed disks were composed of mostly equilibrium grain boundaries. The CNT-reinforced ultrafine grained microstructural features resulted in high strength and good ductility.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.187-197
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• 1996

In this study, the properties of coil spring made by Cu-Zn-Al and B added shape memory alloys are investigated. The measurement of recovery displacement and energy with increasing weight, and thermocycling properties have been studied using displacement measuring device. Transformation temperature and phase change by thermocycling have been also investigated by DSC and X-ray diffractometer. Grain size of the alloy is refined from 1.2mm to $400{\mu}m$ by 0.06wt% of B addition. The maximum recovery energy of the coil spring for B added alloy is larger than that of no B added alloy, it is because of grain refinement. And shape memory ability of the coil spring by thermocycling decrease with increasing thermocycling after thermocycle under load. The degradation of shape memory properties of coil spring by thermocycling is improved by B addition.